Sex-related differences among patients undergoing surgical aortic valve replacement—a propensity score matched study

Females had a lower body mass index (median 27.1 vs 28.0kg/m 2 Sex-relateddifferencesamongpatientsundergoingsurgical aorticvalvereplacement-a propensityscorematchedstud Summar ; P ¼0.008), fewer bicuspid valves (52% vs 59%; P¼0.036), higher EuroSCORE II (mean 2.3 vs 1.8%; P<0.001) and Society of Thoracic Surgeons score (mean 1.6 vs 0.9%; P<0.001), were more often in New York Heart Association functional class III/IV (47% vs 30%; P <0.001) and angina Canadian Cardiovascular Society III/IV (8.2% vs 4.4%; P<0.001), but had a lower rate of myocardial infarction (1.9% vs 5.2%; P ¼0.028) compared to males. These differences vanished after PSM, except for the EuroSCORE II and Society of Thoracic Surgeons scores, which were still significantly higher in females. Furthermore, females required smaller valves (median diameter 23.0 vs 25.0mm, P<0.001). There were no differences in the length of hospital stay (median 8days) or intensive care unit stay (median 24 vs 25hours) between the 2 sexes. At 2 years, post-SAVR outcomes were comparable between males and females, even after PSM.